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Competence (SVU)
An overprotective mother claims that her daughter with Down Syndrome became pregnant after being raped. Plot Rebecca Tolliver reports her 22-year-old daughter, Katie, who has Down Syndrome is pregnant. Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler have to make sure it's not just her mother being overprotective and in denial of her daughter's sex life. They learn even more people could have used her innocence about sex to abuse her. At first they suspect Katie's boyfriend from the Down Syndrome education and activity group she attends as he has taken the sex ed classes and is very devoted to Katie but is later proven he is innocent. Katie's boyfriend tells Katie what sex is and she disagrees saying it is exercise. It turns out that Katie's boss at a local store (where she works as part of a program) is responsible for her pregnancy. Katie and her boyfriend set up an apartment together to prepare for the upcoming baby but they accidentally set the stove top on fire. ADA Alexandra Cabot then has to interfere and take on her superior, in order to settle the mother-daughter dispute on whether the daughter should have an abortion or not and if Katie is competent enough to be a mother. This directly conflicts with their argument in Katie's rape case where she isn't competent enough to consent to sex even though she is over the legal age. The judge tells ADA Cabot she can't have it both ways - that Katie is competent enough to be a mother but not enough for sexual consent and dismisses the charges. Without a confession from Katie's boss that it wasn't consensual sex there is no case. The ADA goes to talk to the boss and he tells them it was consensual sex. The ADA then shows him photos of more babies born to girls from the Down Syndrome work program that worked for him. She tells him that even though he is unable to be charged with rape for these girls he will be paying child support for all of them thus ruining his life financially by making him literally pay for his crimes. Summary Episode summary Cast Main cast * Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler * Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson * Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch * Stephanie March as A.D.A. Alexandra Cabot * Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola * Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen Recurring cast * Peter Hermann as Defense Attorney Trevor Langan * B.D. Wong as Dr. George Huang * Judith Light as Bureau Chief Elizabeth Donnelly * Harvey Atkin as Judge Alan Ridenour * Ned Eisenberg as Defense Attorney Roger Kressler Guest cast * Lois Smith as Rebecca Tolliver * Andrea Fay Friedman as Katie Tolliver * James Badge Dale as Danny Jordan * C.J. Wilson as Scott Lucas * Matt DeCaro as Abe Cheney * Ray Fitzgerald as Ray Dunstan * Kelley Fahey as Nurse * Tony Rizzoli as Deli Owner * Michael Duran as Pharmacist * Darren Pettie as Joe Parker * Ezra Knight as Kevin Caldwell * Craig Alan Edwards as ND Man * Jason Pensky as Andy McCollum References Down's Syndrome Quotes * Katie: I got my baby from Danny. Dr. Huang: How? Katie: Kissing, stupid. (turns to Alex) Your friend doesn't know anything. * Kressler: Alex Did you know that Katie set fire to her mom's apartment when she tried to use the stove? * Alex: I set fire to my own stove last year, Counselor. But, no, I did not know that. Background information and notes * The episode name "Competence" was also used for the Law & Order fifth season episode, "Competence (L&O)". Episode scene cards Category:SVU episodes